Welt bar



July l5, 1930. c. HADFIELD WELT BAR Filed April 27, 1929 vUe/dfx- Patented July 15, 1930 UNITED STATES PATENT oFElcE Application filed April 27,

rlhis invention relates to 'Welt bars for use with flat knitting machines which are adapted for the knit-ting of full fashioned hosiery.

The object of the invention is to produce a Welt bar which will facilitate the welt-turning operation. The construction and operation of a welt bar made in accordance with the principles of my invention will be fully disclosed hereinafter, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, of which:

Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic sectional elevation through the-welt bar, and showing a web of knitted fabric stretched between the hooks of the Welt bar and the needles of a iiat knitting machine;

Fig- 2 is a view-similar to Fig. 1, but showing the welt bar in the welt-turning posit-ion,l with respect to the needles of the machine;

Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 2, drawn to an enlarged'scale;

Fig. 4 is a perspective improved welt bar hooks;

Fig. 5 is a transverse sectional view taken on the line 5 5, Fig. 4; and

Fig. 6 is a transverse sectional view taken on the line 6-6, Fig. 4.

Welt bars of the priorart consist of a plurality of plain hooks spaced, apart in accord'- ance with lthe gage of the machine in which t-he bar is adapted to be used, the Shanks of the hooks being respectively provided with grooves in their rear faces, the said Shanks being secured between a pair of substantially similar bars adapted to be secured together by suitable screws for clamping the hooks in place.

As is well known in the art, the welt-turning operation is more difficult, and requires greater skill and experience on the part of the knitter, than an other operation in the knitting process. ed knitter, some of the needles of the machine will become bent or broken during the' Welt-turning operation, due to the fact that the said needles are necessarily subjected to lateral strains incidental to that part of the operation wherein the welt bar hooks are being removed from the stitches of the knitted fabric, which previously have been pressed down on the hooks and the needles,

view of one of my Y ven with the most skill- 13 1929. Serial No. 858,519.

after the hooks have been properly aligned with the needles.

In using a welt bar made in accordance with the principles of my invention, it is not necessary to place any lateral strain whatsoever ,on the needles during any part of the Welt-turning operation, therefore, the possibilities of bent or broken needles is obviated. Furthermore, with the 'use of my improved Welt bar the necessary steps of the operation are reduced to a minimum, as will be fully disclosed hereinafter."

eferring to the drawings, my improved welt bar is indicated, generally, at A, the needles of the machine being indicated at B, and the knitted fabric indicated at C.

Thefwelt bar A consists of a base bar 1 and a clamp bar 2 rigidl secured together by means of screws 3. he base bar l is I'grooved as indicated at 4 for the reception oi the Shanks 5 of the welt bar hooks 10. The base bar l is also provided with a series of apertures 6 forthe reception of butts 7 formed on one end of each of the welt hooks 10.

As shown in Fig. 3, the shanks 5 of the hooks 10 project beyond the surface 8 of the base bar 1 and are engaged by the surface 9 of the clamp bar 2 adjacent one longitudinal edge thereof, the opposite longitudinal edge of the clamp bar being provided with a rib 11 which bears against the surface 8 of the base bar 1 and acts as a fulcrum for the clamp bar 2, so that when the screws 3 are turned down tightly the Shanks 5 of the hooks 10 will be rigidly secured within the welt bar A between the parts 1 and 2 thereof.'

A portion 12 of the Shank 5 of each of the welt bar hooks lextends beyond one 1ongitudinal edge of the welt bar A and at its outermost end is provided with a suitable crook livotally' mounted at 14 in the projecting shank portion 12 of the hook 10 is a latch 15,

-which is adapted, under certain predetermined conditions, to swing about its pivot to either of the positions shown in Figs. '1 and 2, respectively. As shown in Fig. 3, the latch 15 is provided with a Hat thin blade portion 16 located within a slot I17 formed in the shank portion 12 of the hook 10. The said latch is also provided at its outer end with an enlarged portion 18, cupped as indicated at 19, for the purpose of engaging and covering the point 20 of the hook 10.

The upper end f the slot 17 connects with a groove 21 formed in the rear face of the shank portion 12 and adapted to receive the beard 22 of one of the needles B, as clearly shown in Fig. 3.

1n operation the welt bar is positioned in the machine in the usual lmanner at the start of the knitting operation, with the crooks 13 of the hooks 10 projecting between the needles B of the machine, and the latches 15 thrown back into position shown .in Fig. 1.

The knitting operation then progresses in the usual manner until sutlicient of the fabric C has been knitted to produce the turned welt of the stocking, after which the welt bar is moved from the position shown in Fig. 1 to the position shown in Figs. 2 and 3.

During this movement, from theone position to the other, the stitches held in the crooks 13 are moved along the Shanks of the hooks 1() and the latches 15 until they lie intermediate the cupped ends 18 of the latches and the adjacent longitudinal edge of the welt bar, or in other words until the stitches are behind the latches on the Shanks of the hooks.

The welt bar is then placed in the weltturning position shown in Figs. 2 and 3 with the beards 22 of the needles B lying within the grooves 21 of the shank portions 12 of the welt hooks 10 and the ends 23 of the needles B lying in a longitudinally extending groove 24 formed in the edge of the base bar 1 immediately adjacent the welt hooks 10, it being noted that the stitches w1 which are held on the needles B occupy aposition substantially below the ends 13 of the welt hooks 10.

l/Vith the welt bar in this position with respect to the needles the transfer ot' the stitches :v from the welt hooks 10 to the needles B is accomplished in the simplest sort of way, i. e. by merely passing the finger along the web of fabric and exerting a downward force thereon, the stitches .'11 being thereby moved longitudinally of the hooks 10 and under the cupped ends 18 of the latches 15, continued downward movement of the fabric eHecting the swinging of the latches from the position shown in Fig. 1 tolthe position shown in Figs. 2 and 3, wherein the said cupped ends 18 of the latches completely cover the points 20 of the welt hooks 10, and permitthe said stitches m to be moved, without interruption, over the said latches and 0H the end of the said welt hooks onto the Shanks of the needles B, thus completing the weltturning operation.

The welt bar A is then free to be raised from the needles B without necessitating any l welt ifzvdeee lateral or other strains being placed upon the needles of the knitting machine or the hooks of 'the welt bar.

During the welt-turning operation, the usual bar or wire D is placed in the loop formed in the fabric C, and this bar is then connected to the usual take-up mechanism of the knitting machine and the knitting progresses in the same usual manner, after the bar A has been removed from the needles B.

l claim:

1. A welt bar, for use in fiat knitting machines, comprising a plurality of hooks adapted to be respectively aligned with the needles of the said machine, and a relatively y movable element on each hook adapted to cover the point thereof when the hooks are aligned with the needles, said bar having a socket at the base of each hook to receive the point of the needle with which the hook is aligned.

2. A welt har, for use in flat knitting ma-l chines, comprising a plurality of hooks adapted to be respectively aligned with the needles of the said machine, and a latch pivotally mounted on each be swung on itspivot to a position wherein a. portion of the latch covers the point of the hook with which it is associated when the hooks are aligned with the needles, said bar having a socket at the base of each hook to receive the point of the needle with which the hook is aligned.

3. A welt bar, for use in flat knitting machines, comprising a plurality of hooks adapted to be respectively aligned with the needles of the said machine, each hook cornprising a shank having a groove adapted to receive a portion of the needle with which it isaligned, and a latch pivotally mounted on each hook and adapted to be swung on its pivot to a position wherein a portion of the latch'coveis the point of the hook with which it is associated when the hooks are aligned with the needles, said bar having a socket located at the base of each hook in alignment with the groove formed in the shank of the hook, to receive the point of the needle and to function as a stop between the hook and the needle aligned therewith.

CLAUDE HADFIELD.

hook and adapted tol 

